Vanilla Pudding Fruit Salad

I got this recipe a couple years ago from a work potluck. This is seriously healthy, with all of the sugar-free and light ingredients.  Another great summer recipe.

16 oz plain lowfat yogurt
8 oz lite cool whip (thawed)
1 large box sugar/fat free instant vanilla pudding
1 large can mandarin oranges in juice (drained)
1 regular can pineapple tidbits in juice (drained)
1 cup to 1 1/2 cups grapes

Mix yogurt, cool wihp, and pudding together. Mix in fruit and chill.

Ejoy!

Cinnamon Sugar Apple Cake

I made this delicious fall treat last week for a food day.  Calvin loved it, he keeps asking for more cake!  It was a very quick mix, and quite delicious.

From pinch of yum:

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
1/3 cup oil
1 egg
1 cup buttermilk (you can sub milk+vinegar, or plain yogurt+milk)
1 tsp. soda
1 tsp. vanilla
2 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 cups chopped apples (I used Wealthy heirloom)
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tbs. butter
Instructions
Preheat oven to 325.
Mix ingredients in order given (except the last 3 ingredients).
Pour batter into a 9×13 greased pan.
Combine last 3 ingredients to make a topping and sprinkle it evenly over the batter.
Bake for 45 minutes. It’s delicious when served warm!

Chocolate Eclair Cake

I forgot to take a picture! But I did make this last weekend. Every time I make this, I get compliments, and it is SO EASY to make it is ridiculous. Here it is (also linked at allrecipes.com, although I got the recipe years ago from my grandmother):

Ingredients
1 (16 ounce) package graham crackers
2 (3.5 ounce) packages instant vanilla pudding mix
3 cups milk
1 (9 ounce) package frozen whipped topping, thawed
1 (16 ounce) package prepared chocolate frosting

Directions
Line the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking pan with graham crackers.
In a large bowl, combine the milk and vanilla pudding according to directions on box.
Fold in the whipped topping. Spread a layer of the pudding mixture over the graham crackers.
Alternate the graham cracker and pudding layers up to the top of the pan.
Cook the container of prepared frosting, uncovered in the microwave for 1 minute on half power.
Pour over the top of the cake. Refrigerate for at least 12 hours before serving.

Chocolate Mint M&M Cookies

I do believe it's time to start making some Christmas cookies! I've been seeing some absolutely delicious ones come across the blogs.  Here is one that I made today, with my son who was home from daycare sick. I found this recipe here.

These would also be delicious with both white chocolate and dark chocolate chunks in them in place of the M&M's!  I did read a tip that had honestly never even occured to me before - when you're making drop cookies with chips, M&M's, or any kind of filler in them - save a littel and press it into the tops of the cookies. They're just prettier!

1 1/4 c. butter or light butter spread
2 c. flour
1 c. light brown sugar, packed
3/4 c. white sugar
3/4 c. cocoa
2 tsp vanilla
1 tsp salt
2 eggs
1 tsp baking soda
1 (9.5 oz) bag Mint M&M's, or about 1 1/2 cups

cream butter and sugars until light and fluffy

beat in eggs one at a time

add vanilla

add cocoa, salt and baking soda until well blended

beat in flour

fold in candies

chill dough for one hour up to overnight

drop by tablespoonfuls onto an ungreased or parchment lined cookie sheet

bake at 350 for 8-10 minutes - cookies will be puffed up, but centers will appear slightly under-baked

allow to cool on sheet for 1-2 minutes, then transfer to cooling racks for further cooling

Apple Crisp

Now this is the kind of apple crisp I remember my Mom making!  No oats, no weirdness, just plain apples, sugars, and butters.  So yummy.  I found this on What Megan's Making and I had to have it! The picture is a little funny - I couldn't wait to eat it so it was too hot and liquidy! But the taste was just perfect.

Enjoy!

5 or 6 apples, cored and sliced
1/2 cup white sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
1 cup flour
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened

Mix apple slices with white sugar and cinnamon. Put in bottom of a greased 8x8 pan. Combine flour, brown sugar and butter with a fork until crumbly. Put on top of apple mixture and bake at 350 for 45 minutes or until golden brown.

Homemade Brownies

Brownies are something that I wouldn't have thought of making from anything from a box until recently, when I finally broke out of the "cake from a box" funk I have been in for 30 years! Yes it's fast, and convenient, but what if you don't have a box mix on hand?  What then? 

Well, I looked up this recipe on Recipes.com, and I've got to tell you, it's pretty darn good. Icing and all. I did temper the eggs a bit when I mixed them, I'm way too scared of scrambling my eggs to not do this!  These are very good - enjoy!

1/2 cup butter
1 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking powder

3 tablespoons butter, softened
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tablespoon honey
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup confectioners' sugar

Directions
1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour an 8 inch square pan.
2.In a large saucepan, melt 1/2 cup butter. Remove from heat, and stir in sugar, eggs, and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Beat in 1/3 cup cocoa, 1/2 cup flour, salt, and baking powder. Spread batter into prepared pan.
3.Bake in preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes. Do not overcook.
4.To Make Frosting: Combine 3 tablespoons butter, 3 tablespoons cocoa, 1 tablespoon honey, 1 teaspoon vanilla, and 1 cup confectioners' sugar. Frost brownies while they are still warm.

Honey Pear Crisp

What do you do with a bag of delicious pears straight from your parent's tree? 

Honey Pear Crisp!  Courtesy of Vintage Victuals it came out absolutely delicious.  No walnuts for me.  I used all purpose flour, light brown sugar and just a shake or two of ginger. I cooked it for a little longer and dotted more butter on it later, I didn't have it incorporated enough the first time around. Better luck next time!

3-4 large pears, peeled and thinly sliced
4 tablespoons salted butter, divided
2 tablespoons honey
1/2 cup quick cooking oats
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
a pinch of ginger
1/4 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Grease a small oven-safe dish – an 8×8″ square will work fine.

Layer the pear slices in the prepared dish. Dot the top with 1 tablespoon of the butter. Drizzle the honey over the top of the pears.

In a small bowl, combine the rest of the butter, the oats, flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and ginger. Use a fork or a pastry blender to cut the butter into the dry ingredients until it resembles coarse crumbs. Sprinkle the mixture evenly over the pears. Finally, sprinkle the walnuts on top.

Bake for 15-18 minutes, until the topping is browned and the filling is bubbly. Serve warm with whipped cream, ice cream, or frozen yogurt.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars

From Good Things Catered:

The Best Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars
Adapted from the Best Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients:
2 cups plus 2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
12 Tbsp (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted & cooled until warm
1 c brown sugar, packed
1/2 c granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Directions:
-Preheat oven to 350 degrees and prepare 8x8 baking dish.
-In medium bowl, combine dry ingredients and set aside.
-In bowl of stand mixer, or by hand, mix butter & sugars until thoroughly combined.
-Beat in egg, yolk and vanilla until combined.
-Add dry ingredients & beat at low speed just until combined.
-Stir in chips.
-Pour into baking dish and lightly pat to even out mixture in pan.
-Place in oven and bake until light golden brown and outer edges start to harden yet center is still soft & puffy (about 30 minutes in my oven).
-Remove from oven and let cool completely before cutting into bars.

Oreo Cookies & Cream Cupcakes

Again, from Annie's Eats.

Yield: 24 cupcakes
Ingredients:
For the cupcakes:
24 Oreo halves, with cream filling attached
2¼ cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. salt
8 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 2/3 cup sugar
3 large egg whites, at room temperature
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup milk
20 Oreo cookies, coarsely chopped (I quarter them)

For the frosting:
8 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature
6 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 tbsp. vanilla extract
4 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
2 tbsp. heavy cream

For garnish:
Oreo cookie crumbs
24 Oreo cookie halves

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350˚ F. Line the wells of two cupcake pans with 24 paper liners. Place an Oreo halve in the bottom of each liner, cream side up. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt; stir together with a fork to blend and set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the butter and sugar and beat together on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Blend in the egg whites one at a time, beating well after each addition. Blend in the vanilla extract. With the mixer on low speed, beat in half of the dry ingredients just until incorporated. Add the milk and beat just until combined, then mix in the remaining dry ingredients. Gently fold in the chopped Oreos with a rubber spatula until evenly incorporated, being careful not to over-mix.

Evenly divide the batter between the prepared cupcake liners. Bake for 18-20 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through baking, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool in the pans 5-10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

To make the frosting, combine the cream cheese and butter in the bowl of an electric mixer and beat on medium-high speed until smooth, about 1 minute. Blend in the vanilla extract. Beat in the confectioners’ sugar until incorporated and smooth, 1-2 minutes. Add the heavy cream to the bowl and beat on medium-low speed just until incorporated, then increase the speed to medium-high and whip for 4 minutes until light and fluffy, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.

Frost the cooled cupcakes as desired. Sprinkle with Oreo crumbs and garnish with Oreo halves.

Vanilla Buttercream

Easy Vanilla Buttercream
From Annie's Eats (great blog)


Ingredients:
20 tbsp. (2 ½ sticks) unsalted butter, softened
2 ½ cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
1/8 tsp. salt
2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 tbsp. heavy cream

Directions:
In a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat butter at medium-high speed until smooth, about 20 seconds. Add confectioners’ sugar and salt; beat at medium-low speed until most of the sugar is moistened, about 45 seconds. Scrape down the bowl and beat at medium speed until mixture is fully combined, about 15 seconds. Scrape bowl, add vanilla and heavy cream, and beat at medium speed until incorporated, about 10 seconds. Then increase the speed to medium-high and beat until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes, scraping down bowl once or twice.

Chocolate Cupcakes

The recipe is from Hershey's "Perfectly Chocolate" Chocolate Cake

Ingredients:2 cups sugar
1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup HERSHEY'S Cocoa
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup boiling water
"PERFECTLY CHOCOLATE" CHOCOLATE FROSTING(recipe follows)

Directions:1. Heat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour two 9-inch round baking pans.

2. Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in large bowl. Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla; beat on medium speed of mixer 2 minutes. Stir in boiling water (batter will be thin). Pour batter into prepared pans.

3. Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely. Frost with "PERFECTLY CHOCOLATE" CHOCOLATE FROSTING. 10 to 12 servings.

VARIATIONS:
ONE-PAN CAKE: Grease and flour 13x9x2-inch baking pan. Heat oven to 350° F. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake 35 to 40 minutes. Cool completely. Frost.

THREE LAYER CAKE: Grease and flour three 8-inch round baking pans. Heat oven to 350°F. Pour batter into prepared pans. Bake 30 to 35 minutes. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely. Frost.

BUNDT CAKE: Grease and flour 12-cup Bundt pan. Heat oven to 350°F. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake 50 to 55 minutes. Cool 15 minutes; remove from pan to wire rack. Cool completely. Frost.

CUPCAKES: Line muffin cups (2-1/2 inches in diameter) with paper bake cups. Heat oven to 350°F. Fill cups 2/3 full with batter. Bake 22 to 25 minutes. Cool completely. Frost. About 30 cupcakes.


"PERFECTLY CHOCOLATE" CHOCOLATE FROSTING

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine
2/3 cup HERSHEY'S Cocoa
3 cups powdered sugar
1/3 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Melt butter. Stir in cocoa. Alternately add powdered sugar and milk, beating to spreading consistency. Add small amount additional milk, if needed. Stir in vanilla. About 2 cups frosting.

Butterfinger Dessert Cake

I've had this at a few family functions. Here is the basic idea - I put it together on a Thursday night for a Saturday function. Hoping it doesn't get too soggy!!

Angel food cake
1 lg. Cool Whip (I used 1 1/2 regular packages)
6 Butterfinger candy bars (I used 16 fun size)
French vanilla pudding
2 c cold milk for pudding

Make vanilla pudding according to directions. Mix in cool whip. Tear angel food cake into small pieces and layer into dish or trifle bowl. Add layer of Cool Whip mixture and follow with a layer of crushed Butterfinger candy bars. Repeat ending with candy bar pieces. Must be kept refrigerated.

Vanilla Cupcakes

From the Joy of Baking

The buttercream icing is fantastic... the cupcakes were pretty dry.  I'm going to look for a better cupcake recipe, but the icing recipe is here:

Buttercream Frosting (for 12 cupcakes):

2 cups (230 grams) confectioners sugar (icing or powdered sugar), sifted
1/2 cup (113 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 tablespoons milk or light cream
Assorted food colors (if desired)

For the Frosting: In an electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, cream the butter until smooth and well blended. Add the vanilla extract. With the mixer on low speed, gradually beat in the sugar. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the milk and beat on high speed until frosting is light and fluffy (about 3-4 minutes). Add a little more milk or sugar, if needed. Tint the frosting with desired food color (I use the paste food coloring that is available at cake decorating stores and party stores).

Peanut Butter Balls

These are delicious!  From Taste of Home.

1 (18 ounce size) jar of peanut butter


2 cups Rice Krispies cereal

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup chocolate chips (I used milk chocolate)


In a double boiler over low heat, melt chocolate and set aside. In a medium sized bowl, combine all other ingredients. Blend well until mixture forms a dough. Roll into 1-inch balls. Using a toothpick or fork, dip the balls into the chocolate until well coated. Place onto a cookie sheet lined with wax paper. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Mini Vanilla Cupcakes

(from Martha Stewart’s Cupcakes), via One Ordinary Day

1 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 c. unsalted butter, room temperature
1 c. sugar
3 eggs
1 1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
3/4 c. milk


Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a mini muffin tin with paper liners. Sift or whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside. In another bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Beat in vanilla. Add flour mixture in three batches, alternating with two additions of milk, and beating until combined after each. Fill liners 3/4 way full and bake for 15-18 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean. Cool on wire rack.

Frosting:
(from Elinor Klivan’s cupcakes!)
1/2 c. unsalted butter, room temperature
3 c. powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
3-4 Tbsp. whole milk
sprinkles


In a large bowl, on low speed, beat the butter, powdered sugar, and vanilla together with 3 Tbsp. of milk. Add up to 1 Tbsp. more milk if needed to form a creamy, smooth frosting. Spread on cupcakes or spoon into decorating bag with star tip to pipe onto cupcakes. Decorate with sprinkles.

Delicious!